I was born M. Lisa Kuzara on May 11, 1954, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We lived in Palmer Lake, Colorado at the time and I remember lots
of pine trees, the rock patio my dad built and my sandbox. One of my favorite stories my dad told me about living there was about how he used to carry me on his shoulders while walking through the
pine trees surrounding our house. He would pretend to trip because I would break out in peals of laughter.
We moved to Denver for a few years, and then to Northglenn, Colorado (just north of Denver) when I was in third grade. Some of my most
vivid memories begin when I was about five years old. We started water-skiing on Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins, Colorado. We had a speed boat and a flat-topped in-board we called "the
barge." We would anchor on the lake all day and ski and swim from our barge as home base. We'd take off on Friday night and get home late on Sunday. What great times those were! I loved to slalom at
every opportunity. One time, my mom swears they had to kill the engine on the boat to get me to stop---I'd skiied the full 9-mile length of the lake! I remember it well. Even the sting of tired
muscles couldn't stop me from enjoying the exhiliaration of skiing on water. I've skiied a few times since my childhood but nothing can compare with those early years of "living on the
lake."
When I think about my childhood, I also fondly recall liking school and taking lessons---piano and ballet almost exclusively. And of course
those unforgettable summers in Steamboat Springs, Colorado at Stephens/Perry-Mansfield, a girls camp for music, theater and dance. I loved ballet. My first ambition was to become a professional
dancer. My first job ever was as a ballet teacher to young children.
While I was in high school, I loved performing in musical comedies. I vividly remember performing in "H.M.S. Pinafore," "Oklahoma,"
"Gypsy," and having the lead in "Finian's Rainbow." I cherish my memories of performing first with the Colorado Concert Ballet Company and later with the Denver Civic Ballet Company. Performing in
"the Nutcracker" over several years was my favorite memory! I loved being Clara, a snowflake, a mechanical doll, a soldier doll, and the spanish licorice dance. I also loved singing in the choir
almost every year of school. I ended my senior year on a high note as the winner of our local Junior Miss Pageant.